


Tearing Down These Walls

by ububel



Category: Operación Triunfo (TV), albalia
Genre: F/F, albalia - Freeform, albay, rechunza
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:40:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23920213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ububel/pseuds/ububel
Summary: Natalia and Alba are in a relationship, but do they have the courage to expose it to the world?
Relationships: Natalia Lacunza/Alba Reche
Kudos: 18





	Tearing Down These Walls

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Operación Triunfo, the girls, or Joan Garrido, for that matter. I also did not speak Spanish by the time this was written, the cringe... “Poco se habla,” lol.

It’s past 2 AM when Natalia finally makes it to the hotel room, after a busy day.

She never thought life would get this hectic after OT and especially after releasing her first EP, but there she was, trying to dodge a huge group of people outside the building. She felt bad for them, she really wanted to talk, sign their CDs and take pictures with each of them, she was grateful for them.

But she was _tired,_ her energy completely drained from a full afternoon of press, interviews and meetings. Even if she did give those fans the time of the day, she wouldn’t completely be there and would probably fall asleep or pass out in the middle of a conversation. So her personal bodyguard made sure she would get into the hotel through the backdoor. Thank God for her security team – something she was still getting used to. She didn’t expect to need them someday, yet her management had to hire a couple of bodyguards, just in case someone got too crazy. Like that one time she was doing one of her first meet-and-greets and a girl tried to kiss her square on the mouth.

Alba wasn’t pleased with that, for sure. Speaking of…

Natalia took off her huge, comfortable coat – it was too cold in Barcelona this time of the year – and her shoes, and headed straight to the bedroom.

And there she was, Alba. Alba. She could repeat this name all day until it didn’t even sound like an existing word, and never get sick of it. Alba. Lying in their shared bed, sound asleep, softly snoring, covered by a thick grey blanket, completely unaware of Natalia’s presence.

Natalia loved her soft snores; she remembers staying a few extra minutes in bed with Alba back in the academy just to listen to that sound. Up until Pachelbel’s “Canon” blasted through the speakers, of course, indicating that everyone _had to_ get up.

It calmed her down; she’s always been the anxious one in this _relationship_. Being around her brought some sort of peacefulness she hasn’t had in quite a while. Too many thoughts, too many words waiting to become songs in her head, way too many insecurities…

Alba made it all go away, with a single touch or look.

Not able to contain her excitement for seeing her girlfriend, Natalia just climbed in and laid down beside the blonde woman. Next to her, she could clearly see how Alba was now carrying the same bags under her eyes as she was. Everything went too crazy for her after OT, too. Her first record was already out, and she was enjoying a few days off before her first tour ever started.

Maybe that was why there were so many people outside, she figured, Alba must have taken the front door. So much for privacy… Of course, their fans went nuts every time they appeared together, and it hasn’t gotten any different since then.

People must have figured it all out already, because _duh,_ it’s quite obvious. They try not to take an in-your-face approach to it, but they don’t hide as much as they used to and everyone is starting to pick up on their clues. Posting pictures together – not even bothering to hide their full smiles, all teeth and eyes –, going out together all the time, flying out to see each other even with crazy schedules.

Yeah. Definitely, _sí son._ _Albalia es real._

Still, an official statement wasn’t made. It bothered Alba more than Natalia thought it would.

She played with her blonde bangs for a bit, letting her long fingers linger on the other girl’s forehead. She loved those moments, when they were alone and she could take in every single detail. Not that she already hadn’t done that, but she seemed to find something new every time she stopped and stared. This time, she found a different birthmark on her neck, amongst so many others. _“So fucking cute. The prettiest in all of Spain, period,”_ she pondered.

When she placed a soft kiss on Alba’s cheek, then another lingering one above her perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her girl woke up. Slowly opening her big, sleep filled, honey coloured eyes. Noticing Natalia’s presence, Alba smiled, sweet and gentle. _As always_ , Natalia thought.

 _“Hola, mi amor,”_ she muttered, raspy and rough from her nap, melting the brunette’s heart.

“Hey, _churri_ ” Natalia answered, getting under the covers with her and pulling Alba into her arms. It had been too long – almost 48 hours, she missed that feeling. The blonde one didn’t protest, and sunk even further into Natalia’s body, as if they were one.

“I’ve missed you. How was your day?” Alba asked, though the question sounded muffled, as she was nuzzling her face into Nat’s shoulder. Natalia snorted out a breath, tired and grumpy.

“Busy as fuck. Can you _believe_ some fucktard photographer tried to follow our car after the Buzzfeed interview?” she said, rolling her eyes, to which Alba laughed.

“Well, you’re _famous_ now, better get used to it, I guess,” she whispered, looking up to Natalia’s eyes. They carried a lot of anger and angst, and as soon as Alba touched her face and slid her hand to the back of her neck, she closed her eyes and relaxed a bit.

Alba smiled before diving in for a kiss, a quick but reassuring one. Natalia still had her eyes closed when she pulled away.

“Never gets old,” she said, biting her bottom lip for effect. She couldn’t help but feel like a giddy teenager when Alba kissed her. And it felt like that since the first time they kissed at the academy, shy and scared shitless that everyone would hear them.

“That’s good, ‘cause I don’t intend on stopping anytime soon,” Alba laughed, searching for her girlfriend’s hand and locking their fingers together. “What’s bothering you?”

“I just… I don’t want them to ruin _us_ , you know? They kept asking me tons of questions about you, and I didn’t know what to say, because _this feels sacred_ and…” Natalia started rambling, and Alba tried to interrupt her.

“People are not blind, Nat.”

“I know they’re not, but _saying it_ will make it more real and…”

“Oh, so you don’t _want_ it to be real?” Alba said suddenly, and Natalia could tell where this was going, she was getting upset. That was the last thing she wanted.

She took both of Alba’s hand into hers, pulled them to her chest and tried her best to elaborate an answer.

“Baby, it’s not like _that_. You’re the best thing that happened to me, _come on_. I got an EP out, and full record will be out soon. But I also got _you_. And I don’t want everyone trying to take a sneak peek into what _we_ have,” she said, and she could tell Alba was on the verge of crying, she was pouting and her beautiful eyes were shining, watery. _Oh, no._

“But they already have, they did. Back when the show was on, they’ve seen _most of it_. They will get over it eventually,” by now Alba was almost sobbing, her cheeks red and wet with tears. Natalia let go of her hands for a brief second and pulled her back into her embrace.

“ _Cariño,_ don’t cry, please,” she pleaded, rubbing her hands on her girl’s back, soothing her. When she calmed down, they spent a few minutes in silence, until the heaviness of the moment subsided. This time, Alba resumed the conversation.

“I just want the world to know that… I’m _yours._ No one else’s.”

That was a punch to Natalia’s gut. Of course, life wasn’t a perfect fairytale. Theirs had been a huge _bollodrama_ for the past year, but hearing this? From the person she loved the _most_ , since day one? It was Natalia’s turn to get overwhelmed to the point of tears. Alba continued.

“When I arrived here today, there were a few fans waiting. They knew I was coming to stay with you, and they asked me about you, too,” she spoke, tiredly, almost in a whisper.

“And what did you tell them?” Natalia asked, curiously.

“I just smiled and winked, you know? They’re so supportive. They _know_ , Nat. That’s the point.”

“But _nena…_ ”

“I know, _if they already know, why do we need to make it official?_ To stop the absurd questions on the other side of the spectrum, babe… don’t you think I’ve had enough, too? Yesterday, some shitty tabloid was trying to link me to _Joan_ , of all people, for Christ’s sake…”

That seemed to get on Natalia’s nerve, as expected. She _hated_ when they linked Alba to their former OT mates, and the media seemed to be doing that a lot more frequently than she would’ve liked.

After a few more minutes of silence, their synchronized breathing being the only sound in the room, Natalia noticed something. Alba was wearing her orange and pink sweater. She thought she’d lost it at the academy, but apparently her girlfriend _stole it._ Oh, why did she have to be like _this_?

“Why are you wearing my _long lost_ sweater, miss Reche?” she asked, playfully tickling Alba’s stomach under the covers, knowing how sensitive she was. Of course she started giggling and yelping. She loved the change of atmosphere; she just missed her and didn’t want to spend the night fighting over the same thing again.

“STOP IT!” Alba pleaded, laughing manically, rolling over to Natalia’s side to try and stop the tickling.

“You stole my sweater, Reche! _Que perra imunda_!” Natalia laughed with her.

“Okay, you win, you win!” Alba exclaimed, lifting her arms up. “But I got a good reason to!”

“Explain.” Natalia crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow, waiting for the _probably_ absurd response.

“It smelled like you, because you took a lotion bath every single night. I thought I’d keep it, so I wouldn’t miss you too much when you were away…” the blonde one shyly explained herself, much to Nat’s dismay, because that. Was. It.

She roughly pulled Alba on top of her for a kiss, a real one this time around, lips and tongue, teeth and hands all over. When the blonde beauty straddled her, Natalia _finally_ noticed that Alba wasn’t wearing any pants, only her underwear, and that fact alone just turned her on so bad she almost couldn’t breathe. It meant Alba had been _waiting_ for her in more ways than one.

When Alba started to rock her hips into hers, she swallowed a moan, held onto her thighs and stopped her, despite her _longing_ to lose herself in those honey eyes and husky whimpers.

She sat against the headboard, Alba still on her lap, looking right into her eyes.

“About _that_ … I promise I’ll think about it.” She said, leaning in so their foreheads would touch.

Alba closed her eyes and smiled. “ _En serio?”_

“Yes. I’m scared, but we _need_ to do this.” Natalia said, and the tension finally dissipated. They embraced each other, closing their eyes, just taking the moment in.

“Thank you _so much_ , _cariño.”_ Alba thanked her, resting her blonde head on her neck, giving it a quick nuzzle. Then another. Then a series of them, to which Nat giggled.

“Oh, here comes the _gatito!_ ” She laughed softly, but that laugh turned into a loud moan when Alba licked the curve of her neck up to her earlobe.

“Now, where were we? Take these clothes off, I want to be your _perra imunda_ ,” Alba said, playfully seductive. Natalia cackled.

“OH MY GOD, ALBA RECHE!”

“You’re about to see _la Reche_ , baby,” the blonde one said, letting the sweater fall off her torso, exposing her milky white skin to Natalia. Biting her bottom lip and giving her _the eyes._ The _Toxic_ eyes. 

Natalia swallowed the lump in her throat, completely hypnotized, and in a haze, she let Alba take her shirt off. It was going to be a long night.

\----

Of course, word was out _everywhere_ that Alba Reche and Natalia Lacunza spent the night at the same place in Barcelona.

It was a complete circus at the front of their five-star hotel, but they were weirdly content. It had been a _great_ night after all.

Locking their fingers together inside the elevator, Natalia took Alba’s hand and kissed the back of it.

 _“Te quiero,”_ the brunette said first, in Alba’s ear, like a secret only meant for them.

 _“Y yo a ti, mi amor,”_ Alba answered, smiling so big it reached her eyes, for the first time in a while.

When the front doors opened and the flashes started clicking and popping in their faces, and those people outside started screaming their names, their security guards formed that well-known wall around them. But for Natalia and Alba, it was all white noise.

Natalia put her hands on Alba’s hips and pulled her in for a searing kiss, much to Alba’s surprise. She returned the kiss anyway, closing her eyes and letting herself _melt_ into Natalia, biting her bottom lip before they pulled away.

The screaming only got louder, there were more and more clicks, and more photographers asking questions, but they still couldn’t hear anything.

Proud smiles plastered in their faces, and fingers locked tight, they got into their waiting black van, and went off to another day of hard work. They knew what was ahead of them, but they just didn’t care. _Everything_ they needed was _right there._


End file.
